A proposed formation program for the formation of aspirants to the La Salle Brotherhood in Pakistan

• Main Author: Perera, Denzil Cantius, FSC
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1990
• Subjects: Religious life; Vocation (in religious orders; congregations; etc)
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1279
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study determines the strengths and weaknesses of the Aspirancy Program, motivations, attitudes, and Christian knowledge of the aspirants who aim to join the religious life of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and to develop, based on the findings, a proposed aspirancy program that will be consonant with the cultural and Christian needs of those candidates in Pakistan. The study is descriptive and developmental. Data gathered from questionnaires were used to interpret data and formulate generalizations. It is developmental because, on the basis of the findings, a program for the aspirants has been suggested. The following were used to evaluate the effectivity of the program and the improvements needed: a. Philippine Attitudes Scale and Knowledge Orientation (PASKO) questionnaire by Fr. Luke Moortgat, CICM b. Religious Motivation and Program Evaluation Test c. Unstructured interviews and discussions d. The influence of Islamic culture in formation activities. Respondents of the study were the 11 aspirants of La Salle Brothers in Pakistan, the 46 Catholic senior High School students of two La Salle High Schools, Faisalabad and La Salle Hostel-Kushpur. The survey led the researcher to come up with the following conclusions: a. There was an absence of a well-formulated Aspirancy Program b. The Catholic High School seniors had a weak knowledge of Religion c. Aspirants showed remarkable improvement in Religious Knowledge and in Religious Attitudes, compared to the High School seniors. But when compared with the PASKO National Survey students, their standard did not show much difference. The Aspirants showed poor performances in knowledge about the Church and in Attitudes towards Social Involvement. d. Results of the Motivation test indicated that two-thirds of the aspirants had valid motives when they joined the program. e. There is a need to purify the negative elements of character and culture traits in the light of the Gospel values. f. The awareness of the specific difficulties in the spiritual,